Summary

Description	This is the second segment of a two-part lecture about deaths from narcotic use and overdose, chiefly heroin, as seen and recorded in New York City by its Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Milton Helpern, who served in that capacity from 1954 to 1974. Photographs of overdose victims, autopsy specimens, and histologic slides are presented. The importance of making a diagnosis dependent upon the circumstances of the death and the pathological findings is stressed. The effects of repeated intravenous injections upon the veins and subcutaneous tissues are described and illustrated. The arm of an overdose patient is incised and many areas of injections are marked by hemorrhages in the subcutaneous tissues. Photographs taken of "skin poppers" are utilized to illustrate the abscess formations and abscess scars characteristic of this type of addict. Photographs are then shown to demonstrate some of the complications of narcotic addiction. These include patients with mitral valvulitis with mitral ste
Source	collections.nlm.nih.gov
Author	Helpern, Milton, 1902-1977., Emory University. School of Medicine., National Medical Audiovisual Center.

Licensing

Public Domain

Attribution: Helpern, Milton, 1902-1977., Emory University. School of Medicine., National Medical Audiovisual Center.